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ALP to take HQ to Melbourne for election

Labor's 2013 federal election headquarters will be moved from Sydney to Melbourne in what MPs say is an attempt to counter the potential loss of marginal seats in Victoria and to distance itself from the party's woes in NSW.

ALP national secretary George Wright told Fairfax his motivation to find the best place to run the federal Labor Party election campaign was based on location, rent and "all that sort of stuff", and denied it had anything to do with the tainted brand of the NSW branch.

NSW MPs, however, say it's astounding that the move is being considered, as half of the party's 10 most marginal seats are in western Sydney or on the central coast and the election will be won or lost in the state.

Among the at-risk seats in Sydney's west are Lindsay, held by Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury, and Greenway, held by Michelle Rowland, while Corangamite, Deakin and La Trobe are among the most marginal of Victoria's seats.

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Victorian MPs support the Melbourne move, saying potential seat losses in the state justify a Melbourne base.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is hearing allegations of corruption involving former state Labor minister Eddie Obeid and members of his family in relation to the awarding of mining licences.

In the final Nielsen poll for the year, Labor was behind on a two-party preferred basis with 48 per cent of the vote with the coalition on 52 per cent.